Ensnared
by kinatsurune
Summary: [HPFMA Xover, RoyEd shonen ai, nekoEd] Ed discovers a completely new and magical world. Unfortunately, the Dark Lord residing in said world is all the more willing to take advantage of the young alchemist’s eagerness to learn about the Philosopher's stone
1. Prologue

Wow, I bet some people reading this right now are ready to murder me...thinking, 'what the heck is this girl doing, writing a new fanfic when she hasn't updated her old ones in years???' Eheh... ::sweatdrop::

Yeah, anyway...

Disclaimer: I own neither Full Metal Alchemist nor Harry Potter. This fanfiction is purely for pleasure, not profit.

Summary: Ed discovers endless possibilities in a completely new and magical world. Unfortunately, the Dark Lord residing in said world is all the more willing to take advantage of the young alchemist's eagerness to learn about both magic and an alternate Philosopher's Stone.[ Warnings: partially neko-Ed, sh-ai RoyEd

Chapter Summary: A horrible disaster occurs, causing Ed to start craving milk…O.o

A/N: Just to clear things up first before I start. This fic is pretty much TWT (Timeline? What Timeline?) for both series. There might be some odd references here and there, but overall neither Harry nor Ed are in a specific point in their plotlines. Sorry, I'm just lazy and didn't want to deal with having to keep references to TWO timelines correct…

Warnings: As it says in the summary, slight neko-Ed and shounen ai, meaning a relationship between two males. Its pretty light, that's why its shounen ai and not yaoi, but if you don't like that stuff, you can LEAVE NOW. Don't say I didn't warn you. Otherwise…

Enjoy!

* * *

**Prologue**

"Taisa? Taisa??" A confused voice drifted out uncertainly from within thick bushes. It was night, everything pitch black within the dark shadows of the forbidden looking trees. Not even the moon cast its beams; the thick elongated trunks seemed to swallow up the usually merciful light. The gloomy setting was disturbed only by a small figure emerging from within the bushes, leaves scattered throughout his golden hair.

"Roy?" He whispered almost fearfully. His only answer was the dark, deadening silence.

* * *

flashback

"Please don't tell me Tucker's behind this." Edward shuddered, accidentally crinkling the papers in his hands. The young alchemist preferred not to be anywhere in the proximity of that pathetic existence if he could help it. Unfortunately, his current assignment was beginning to sound like he'd have to see that gruesome chimera once more…

"That hasn't been verified yet, however we're pretty sure he's not related to this." Colonel Roy Mustang answered seriously, a stark contrast to the numerous playful insults he'd thrown at his subordinate the minute the pint-sized alchemist had walked into the door. Standard procedure, you understand.

"How can he not? We're talking about a secret lab suspected of experimenting with creating chimeras! Who _else_ would it be, the Easter bunny?" Edward growled, waving the folder around bad-temperedly. He was still itching to get back at the colonel for all those 'short' comments earlier. But that unfortunately would have to wait.

"But of course, who else." Roy remarked dryly. "No, this person is much too sloppy and amateurish in the subject of chimeras to be Shou Tucker. He – or she – is leaving behind a too obvious trail of his actions. I believe, as your file also mentions, that the recent disappearance of young teens may be related."

Edward inhaled sharply, golden eyes narrowing. "You don't think - "

"I'm not thinking anything at this point, Fullmetal, that is why your job right now is to investigate the matter." The Colonel interrupted sharply. He too, didn't want to think about the likely reasons for why a scientist experimenting with chimeras would kidnap unwanted children. "The general location of where the children went missing should be in the file."

Edward, about to salute, started when a brief flash of concern seemed to flash across his Colonel's face. "T-Taisa…?"

Immediately, the pale features were schooled to their usual state. Edward wondered if he'd just imagined it. "All the missing children were young blonde teens." Roy said curtly, turning to stare out the window.

Edward resisted the urge to smile at the Colonel's way of saying, 'Be careful.' After deciphering the emotions of the armor that was his brother Al, seeing through the human Colonel wasn't too hard. "Don't worry, It'll be easy." He bragged, turning to leave. Waving over his shoulder, the alchemist added confidently, "I'll be back before you know it."

Unfortunately, the tiny state alchemist hadn't factored in on how entirely _twisted_ human-animal chimera researchers were.

It started out innocently enough. After he spent, in his opinion,_grueling_ amounts of searching and asking around ("Shit, why did Al choose_now_ to go visit Winry? This could _so_ have gone by faster if he'd been here to help…"), Edward finally found himself in the cluttered little lab hidden away behind – or more accurately, underneath – a no-name church. The young Elric stared around in disgust at the remnants of failed attempts at fusing two creatures together. Silently, Edward agreed with his superior in that this amateur was in no way Shou Tucker; at least the more experienced scientist was neat about his work.

The chaotic mess made Edward think the culprit was desperate about something. 'Its like he was rushing through each attempt at creating a chimera, not even bothering to clean up after each failure.' Edward thought as he bent down to inspect the bloody limb that was formerly part of some cat species.

"But why?" Edward frowned, sifting through the notes and papers scattered haphazardly across a worktable. Most just simply displayed the transmutation circles required to modify living flesh. Even if Edward would never dream of creating chimeras, he at least recognized the formulas and arrays required to do so. "Is he working for someone, maybe rushing to meet a certain deadline? And why particularly blonde teens?" After a couple more minutes of shuffling, Edward spotted something different.

It showed a curious scene; a young handsome man smiling happily with a young girl, no older than 12 or 13, hanging carelessly on his shoulder. The odd thing though, was the two cat ears and furry tail protruding from the otherwise human child. Edward growled at the sight, ignoring the happy expression on the female chimera; the man had no right to create such an abomination, no matter how well he took care of it afterwards.

"This doesn't make sense, though. Why would he continue making numerous chimeras, and failing at them, if he was already successful with this one?" Edward wondered aloud as he continued to observe the picture.

"Because they killed her." The soft hissing voice made the teen whirl around, instinctively falling into a defensive stance.

"Who's there!" he demanded loudly, clenching his raised fists.

"I am Dr. Minh, and they killed her." The young Elric watched warily as a stooped figure stepped out of the shadows, shuffling forward as if he was afraid to be seen.

Ed narrowed his golden eyes as he caught a glance of the man's face. "You're the man in the picture. You're talking about the chimera in the photo, aren't you?" He demanded. "What's so special about it if you can just make more?"

The young alchemist nearly yelped in surprise, barely ducking out of the way as Minh lunged forward in sudden rage. "She _is_ special! Extremely special to me, my beloved Kata!" Edward ducked again as the gaunt man threw a surprisingly fast punch towards his face.

"What the hell are you rambling about!" Edward shouted, brushing aside another attack before bringing his metal leg up to kick the man squarely in the stomach. He clapped his hands and slammed them against the work table, drawing out an ornate wooden pole to hold it out defensively. Dr. Minh did not get up however, only clutched his stomach tightly as he fought to catch his breath.

"My lovely Kata." The doctor wheezed at the floor in a pain-filled voice. "She came to me one day, a pitiful creature who had no home. Her creator no doubt had cast her out of his sight, discriminating against her because of her animal features."

"_It_ was a chimera." Edward interrupted coldly. "If you thought its existence was so pitiable, why are you making more of them now?"

"Yes, she was a pitiable thing." The doctor murmured, ignoring the question. Edward watched warily as he slowly picked himself back up, straightening his wrinkled lab coat. He stared despairingly at the young teen in front of him and continued to speak in an anguished voice, "But I loved her so. She was such a kind, compassionate, wonderful creature; like a daughter to me. I had only recently lost my niece who I had been raising, and she so easily chased away my grief with her joy and innocence…"

"Look, I don't have time to listen to this crap." Ed growled, beginning to run forward. He didn't want to listen to this man talk about chimeras as if they were human; they _weren't_, and shouldn't have existed in the first place.

"No, you _will_ listen." The man's previously mournful voice changed to a much harsher tone. Just as Edward was only a foot away, Minh abruptly dropped down to slam his hand down against the floor. Too late did Edward realize that the seemingly random splotches of blood on the floor actually made a huge transmutation circle.

"Gyaah!" Edward exclaimed in surprise as he saw then felt the very floor of the lab reach up to grab at his wrists and ankles, slamming him down and restraining him. His weapon clattered harmlessly to the floor. The young alchemist stared up dazedly as the doctor came into his line of sight.

"I created this array to detect the pigment for blonde hair." Dr. Minh explained, watching contemptuously at Edward's futile attempts to break his restraints. "Just in case some child was foolish enough to wander in; what luck I would have, that way I wouldn't need to go out and grab one for myself."

Edward continued to struggle, cursing himself for falling for such a trap. How could he have let this crazy scientist get the best of him? "Let me go, you bastard! What the hell do you need blonde hair for?" He shouted angrily.

"Don't you see? To recreate my Kata of course." Dr. Minh replied gleefully, an almost insane glint in his eye. "I'm recreating her from the children of those who killed her. Those stupid, careless townspeople; they feared her because of her differences, refused to look past her mere appearance to see her kind personality. They would throw stones at her, curse at her, release their _dogs_ on her. And she bore it all like the forgiving soul she was."

At the man's sincere tone, Edward himself began to feel slight guilt for his own prejudices. He knew it was no fault of the chimera that they were made that way; they were monsters simply because they fell victim to the whims of selfish experiments.

"Then one day, they went _too far._" The man continued wrathfully, sinking deeper into his memories and talking more to himself than to his captive. "She was doing NOTHING wrong, absolutely nothing. Those despicable people decided torturing her wasn't enough, no, they had to eliminate her from the face of the earth. They took her…took her away from me, and BURNED her, BURNED HER ALIVE!" Edward flinched as the man began to get wild, waving his arms crazily. "They completely incinerated her, while I could only watch, held back, as she begged and screamed in pain!"

"But you can't bring her back!" Edward craned his neck as Dr. Minh abruptly walked away, disappeared from his line of vision. "Making a body of her from children and cats won't bring her back because her soul is gone. What you're doing is just cruel revenge by using those people's children!"

"No, she can come back." The doctor walked back, holding something Edward couldn't see. A soft mewing emanated from the man's arms, making the trapped alchemist realize it was a kitten. Horror began overtaking his sense as he realized what the man was going to do.

"No…"

"Yes. That array on the floor has a double purpose; capturing my blondes, then fusing them with my animals once it is activated a second time. You are an alchemist, aren't you? That increases the chances of your survival in a fusion with an animal; hopefully, you'll not be another one of my failures."

"No, you can't…" Edward's struggles began anew, twisting and squirming about on the floor. His motions were just as much to attempt breaking free as to hopefully smudge the bloody transmutation circle under him; anything to foil the process that could turn him into a chimera.

"Once you are combined with this feline, I can modify your features with more body parts to make your appearance as close to Kata as possible. She _will_ come alive again, she will!"

"NO!" In a surge of desperation, Edward pulled as hard as he could at the restraints around his wrists, breaking through them with a large cracking sound. Just as he was about to clap his hands, however, Dr. Minh mercilessly threw the hissing and scratching kitten at his face, effectively distracting him. Edward could only listen in horror as the desperate scientist slammed his hands down against the floor once more, enveloping the three in blinding flashes of blue lightning.

Edward closed his eyes and screamed, feeling as if his body were being torn apart molecule by molecule. An invasive sensation came over him, as if a foreign substance was attempting to penetrate the outer barrier of his skin and into his very bones. The young teen began screaming even louder as a burning feeling erupted at his lower backside; it felt like his own spinal cord was thrusting itself out of his body, tearing right out of his skin. Even through the haze of pain, however, the state alchemist struggled to maintain his consciousness, not wanting to know what would happen if he lost it. After what seemed like eternity, the blue lightning bolts of the alchemical reaction began to subside, leaving the exhausted boy panting on the floor.

Edward winced as rough hands grabbed at his heaving shoulders. "Did it work?! Have I finally succeeded?!"

The frantic voice was enough to jerk the alchemist out of his stupefied state and remind him of his situation. With an enraged shriek, Edward leaped up and grabbed at the nearest part of the scientist – his throat – and held on tight. "What did you to me?!!" He screamed, even though in the back of his mind, he already knew. "You fucking bastard, how dare you! HOW DARE YOU!" Edward felt himself become even more infuriated as a slow smile began to spread across Dr. Minh's face.

"I…" He choked through the stranglehold Edward had on him, "I have finally succeeded."

With a cry of mixed anger and horror, Edward slammed a metal fist into that smiling, triumphant face. "NO!"

* * *

"Fullmetal…" Roy sweatdropped as his subordinate shuffled in as quiet as a mouse. Although the dark-haired Colonel was surprised Edward had actually come in without knocking his door down, what confused him more was why the young teen had pulled his red hood so far over his face that only his downturned mouth was visible. "Although it is hard to see since it's so far down there, I _do_ prefer to see your face." Roy cocked an eyebrow at the silence that followed. This was very strange indeed, for Edward to be so unresponsive to a jibe at his height…

"Here's my report." The young alchemist said brusquely, jerking a hand out to drop paperclipped sheets of paper on his superior's desk. "You were right, it wasn't Shou Tucker, just some crazy scientist who wanted to revive a pet chimera that had been killed by the local townspeople. I knocked him out, called the local police, and now he's rotting happily away in their jailhouse." He immediately turned to leave, not even bothering to wait for a response.

"Edward." Roy quickly reached forward to grab the teen's flesh arm, then steer the boy around his desk so the pint-sized alchemist stood right in front of him. "What happened?" He asked seriously.

Edward did not respond, staring down at the floor through his concealing hood. He merely stood, not even trying to escape Roy's gentle grip.

"Edward, why are you wearing your hood?" Roy reached up to pull the hood down, revealing the normal view of the Fullmetal Alchemist – albeit, his golden eyes were tightly shut and he was biting his lip as if in pain, but nothing seemed out of the ordinary. "Finally getting a zit is nothing to be ashamed of." The black haired man attempted to joke, feeling his confusion increase at the apparent normality of the blonde boy.

"If only it was just that." Edward's voice was barely audible. Slowly, he opened his eyes and glared angrily at the other man. Roy could only gape as he found himself staring into slitted cat-like eyes.

"Fullmetal…"

"That_fucking _bastard turned me into a CHIMERA!" Ed finally exploded, slamming his hands down against the Colonel's desk. His metal one left a large dent in the wood, but neither alchemist could hardly bring themselves to care at the moment. "A CHIMERA, Taisa, a fucking chimera!"

"W-what…"

Edward clenched his fists and shut his eyes as tears began leaking out of the corners. "Now I'm…one of those…_things_ that shouldn't ever exist…that shouldn't ever have come into being…_Nina_…" The teen anguished, clutching at his blonde bangs so tightly, they began to tear out. "I can't…I just can't _be_…"

"Edward…" Without thinking, Roy grabbed the young alchemist and held the small body tightly in his arms. Edward's slow tears began to increase within the comfort of a warm embrace, not caring he was completely ruining the other man's uniform.

"Wh-what…what am I going to tell Al?" Edward whispered, staring despondently out into space.

"You've proven faithful to your brother by staying with him even though he wasn't physically human." Roy said firmly, tightening his hold as he felt the boy in his arms begin to tremble. "Trust him to do the same."

The two settled into a silent moment, Roy waiting patiently for his subordinate to settle down. Finally, Edward drew out of the Flame alchemist's arms, eyes tinted red but cheeks even redder from the blush that had arisen.

"S-sorry…"

The Colonel himself felt slightly uncomfortable, wondering what overtook him to be so intimate with the Fullmetal alchemist. But the mere sight of the broken boy was enough to trigger…whatever that was. "No need, Fullmetal. Have you composed yourself yet?" Roy asked roughly to both cover up his embarrassment and bring back the professional air that was supposed to have been maintained between the two.

Edward jerked his head in a nod, grateful for the Colonel's attempt at reverting back to a standard atmosphere.

"A report of your physical status, then."

With a deep breath, Edward began to describe his new body. "I now have the eyes, teeth, and…tail of a cat." Roy nearly jumped back in surprise at the furry appendage peeking out from under the red trenchcoat. With a significant effort, he managed to keep his composure and for the moment ignore the tail in favor of the rest of Edward's report. "I haven't completely confirmed it yet, but I think my vision's improved slightly, especially in the dark. And…" Here, Edward made a disgusted face. "I'm actually craving milk." Roy nearly chuckled at this. Trust the blonde teen to mention something as insignificant as that. "Also, ever since the transmutation, two days ago, I've been feeling almost dissociated, as if I weren't completely in my own body."

"Um…your, ah, tail. Can you control it?" Roy couldn't help but ask. For the first time since he'd arrived back in Central, Edward gave a small smile at the Colonel's obvious curiosity.

"Yeah, for the most part. I'm still learning how to move it, though. You can't imagine how weird it feels."

"No, I suppose I can't." Roy muttered, resisting the temptation to grab the flicking appendage and stroke it to see how soft it was. That would _definitely_ not be appropriate at the moment. "So, what are you - "

"Taisa!"

The flame alchemist looked up in alarm at the suddenly panicked cry of the young teen. He stared in shock as right before his eyes, Edward's outline began to show distinctive blurring.

"Fullmetal! What - "

"I…It's that feeling again, like I'm not in my body." The boy said frantically, clutching his arms as if trying to physically hold himself together. "I…I can't feel…"

"Fullmetal!" Roy instinctively reached out to grab at his subordinate as Edward actually began to fade.

"What's happening to me?!" Even the boy's voice began fading along with his body, golden eyes staring in shock and desperation as Roy's hand passed through his shoulder as if he were a ghost. "Tai - "

Roy stared hopelessly at the now empty space in front of him. "EDWARD!"

* * *

A/N: What happened?? Well, you'll just have to find out in Chapter 1, where the REAL crossover begins! 


	2. Entangling with the Snake

_Disclaimer: I own neither Full Metal Alchemist nor Harry Potter. This fanfiction is purely for pleasure, not profit._

_Chapter summary: Ed gets sucked into the wrong side of the war, but at least figures out some things._

_Warnings: Ahhh! An original character! Don't worry, you can hate her all you like, she _is_ pretty despicable. Also hints of shounen ai, although you should be aware of that by now._

**Entangling with the Snake**

"My Lord, allow me one last chance."

The Dark Lord, Voldemort, turned slowly to consider the prostrated figure before him. A scornful sneer marred his already terrible features as he hissed through his thin mouth, "Which chance would this be? The fourth? Fifth? How many more times do you wish to prove your complete incompetence, my little blossom?"

The woman on the ground winced at the nickname but firmly kept her position. She had worked very hard for this position under the Dark Lord, and she would _not_ let it all go to nothing. "No more, my Lord." She responded firmly, almost too firm in the presence of the powerful wizard. "My recent…failures have been for my efforts to secure Taze as a seed within Hogwarts. As of now, he is in a good position to get close to Dumbledore. As your current spy, Severus, seems not to have proven himself effective lately, allow me to steer my brother for your uses."

Voldemort's already slitted eyes narrowed, hiding the evil gleam of his demonic eyes. "Your ability to control him extends as far as Hogwarts?"

The young woman lifted her head, a visible smirk on her youthful face. "Our telepathic connection has no limit in physical range. A further advantage, my Lord, is his obliviousness to his lack of will. If he were to be discovered, no means of torture or Veritaserum will extract from him the truth. Even he would have no knowledge of why his own hands were wrapped around Harry Potter's throat."

"My my, Tasha, a devious little witch you are." Voldemort mused, the previous look of contempt now replaced by restrained interest. The Dark Lord would have never suspected such a useful tool in his lower ranks of rookie Death Eaters; if he had known of this girl before, there was much that could have been easily accomplished sooner. "You've certainly thought about how to serve me well, have you?"

The girl bowed once more, her sleek brown hair pooling gracefully on the ground. "Of course, my Lord."

"Well then, I wish to receive daily reports of what you manage to glean through your twin. As I –"

Suddenly, the girl jerked her head up, dark brown eyes dilating in the darkness. Voldemort paused, guessing this strange behavior corresponded with her telepathy. After waiting slightly impatiently for a couple minutes, the girl finally came to her senses, shaking her head as if to clear the remnants of a lasting headache.

"I trust something significant has occurred?"

"Taze, along with the Gamekeeper of Hogwarts, has discovered something unusual in the Forbidden Forest. Through his own telepathy, Taze is able to see that this strange creature has a tremendous amount of stored power. Almost…" The girl, Tasha, paused, eyes widening in shock. "…no, that can't be possible…"

At his servant's following announcement, Voldemort felt himself shiver with a violent eagerness to get ahold of whatever the creature was.

"…it's almost on par with Dumbledore himself."

* * *

"Oi, wotcher think yer doin' out here, eh?!" Hagrid berated the wary boy in front of him. While patrolling the forbidden forest with the new teacher, the big half-giant had been alarmed to spot what looked like a student wandering around in the woods. Upon closer inspection, however, the child didn't appear to be from Hogwarts at all.

And unfortunately, seemed to be just as trusting as a hippogriff in heat.

"Who the hell are you? And where the fuck am I?" Edward growled, slightly disturbed in the back of his mind that he could feel his tail fluff up in his anger. Being half a cat was definitely going to need some getting used to…

Professor Taze, the most recent addition to Hogwarts' staff and a rather mild-mannered man, attempted to take a different approach than his large companion. "Now now, we're not going to hurt you, little boy –"

"WHO ARE YOU CALLING SO MICROSCOPIC HE COULD DROWN HIMSELF IN A THIMBLE FULL OF RAIN WATER!!!" The blonde-haired boy screeched angrily, causing the other two to jump back in surprise.

"Fer a li'l guy, you sure have got a pair of lungs on ya." Hagrid remarked. "And we di'nt say nothin' 'bout no thimbles."

Taze, about to say something, abruptly jerked and nearly dropped his lantern. His mild blue eyes became dilated as a hazy feeling overcame his senses. Far in the back of his mind, he registered a smooth voice that somehow seemed familiar but at the same time was completely unidentifiable.

"Now cummon boy, we're not gonna hurtcha!" Hagrid insisted, becoming impatient at Edward's wariness. "If you're not from Hogwarts, I dunno _how _you got here, but 's not safe so we should really get you outta here!" The gamekeeper took another step forward, intending to gently but firmly grab ahold of the suspicious boy.

"Wait, Hagrid." The half-giant turned, confused at the suddenly toneless voice of his companion. "That boy; look at his jacket. Would you not say that symbol could be associated with the Dark Lord?"

Hagrid turned and was alarmed to see the snake-like insignia on the boy's red coat. "But…he's such a li'l 'un…"

"I SAID I'M NOT SMALL!!"

"Still, I say we take precautions and see what the Headmaster has to say." Taze continued monotonously, drawing out his wand.

Edward eyed the stick dubiously. Was that supposed to be a weapon of some sort? What was the man going to do, threaten to poke his eye out?

The young alchemist's question was soon answered as a crackling of red light burst forth from the end of the stick at the bearer's shouted words. Fortunately, Edward's intense physical training with Izumi-sensei as well as his newly acquired feline instincts allowed the blonde teen to dodge the attack with only a split second to spare. Turning, golden eyes widened at the smoking spot on the ground where had stood only moments before. _What the hell…?_

Unexpectedly, Edward allowed a wide grin to spread across his face. Upon arriving in this strange new world which he was pretty sure by now wasn't his own, he'd felt small and insecure after so recently being turned into one of the creatures he wished never existed. Now, having an evident enemy gave him something else to focus on and release his inner turmoil.

"Think you can beat me with that pathetic _stick_?" The blonde mocked, ignoring for the moment the odd power said stick seemed to have. "Think again!" With a resounding clap, the alchemist slammed his hands down against the leafy ground of the forest.

Hagrid yelped as large roots suddenly shot up out of the ground to wind around his big frame. "Death Eater!" He growled, glaring accusingly down at what he'd been fooled into thinking was only a helpless little boy. Feeling the thick trunks tightening around his large girth, the half giant grappled to free himself. "Professor! Wut're you waitin' for, use yer wand!"

Said professor, also caught up in the large roots, suddenly shook his head as if to clear away the remnants of a migraine. "Eh, wha…what? Er, what's going – ack, what _is_ this?!" Immediately, Taze pointed his wand, which he didn't seem to remember having drawn, at the tree roots winding around his body. "Aquaris Negae!" Immediately after the words were uttered, water began shooting out at rapid speeds out of the roots into the thin wand. Slowly, the roots shriveled as their key nutrient was sucked out of them.

Edward frowned, wondering again what those sticks were capable of. What kind of alchemy needed a stick as medium? Only a transmutation circle should have been required, except for him of course.

Dodging yet another jet of, this time, blue lights, the alchemist clapped his hands again and slammed them against the ground once more. This time, he brought forth a wave of dirt, intending to bury and thus immobilize the enemy.

"Seil!"

"What the fuck!" the blonde teen cursed as the thin man once again defended against his attack with that stupid stick. This time, a shield like structure had erected itself around the two men, rendering his wave of dirt virtually useless. Deciding alchemy wasn't working for him right now, Edward resorted to his second strategy.

Transmuting his metal arm, the alchemist ran forward with the intent to at least destroy that stick. He had originally wanted to defeat these strangers and examine the stick for himself, but that wasn't an option any longer.

Just as he was about to jump, the larger of the two suddenly diverted his attention by pointing rather frantically up at the sky. "Professor! More Death Eaters!" Looking up, Edward's jaw nearly dropped, wondering if he was seeing things. Rubbing his eyes, the alchemist confirmed he wasn't; he was really seeing three men flying towards him on…_broomsticks_, of all things.

'What is this, some kind of fairy tale joke? Did I land in Roy's…er, Mustang's dream or something?' Ed wondered dazedly. He watched suspiciously as the hooded figures dismounted from their…brooms and slowly approached him. Were they enemies too?

"Ah, we have been searching for you, young one." The tallest of the group spoke smoothly, his voice drifting out from the concealing depths of the dark hood. "Perhaps we can offer assistance."

Before Edward could even react, the newcomer whipped out his own stick, waving it almost lazily as he murmured some strange phrase the blonde teen couldn't quite identify. The blonde teen turned around in time to see the previous two strangers collapse in a silent heap.

Even if they were hostile, Edward felt a twinge of concern for the two now lifeless figures. "Uh…you didn't kill them, did you?"

A second hooded one answered scornfully, "Of course not, they're only Stunned. Come, you're to meet with our master." This one, who sounded like a woman, abruptly reached down to grab his arm. The blonde teen immediately leaped away, narrowing his slitted eyes. Were they enemies too? What the hell was wrong with this world, everyone wanting a piece of him!

The first figure warningly pointed his stick at the woman, effectively stopping any further motions. "Our Lord has warned us of the potential power we might find. No matter the appearance, we have been ordered to proceed with caution and if necessary, respect! Know your place, Medallia!"

Edward raised an eyebrow, lowering his hands from their defensive position. Were they talking about him? 'Potential power?' Did these people somehow sense his sudden transportation?

"Hey, what're you talking about? How did you know I'd be here?" Maybe these people could figure out what had happened to him and maybe help him get back to Central…and back to the Colonel, if only because he'd left in the middle of a rather awkward situation. The teen was still wondering about the strange feeling that had overcome him when Mustang had…_hugged_ him, but that wasn't supposed to be important right now.

The hooded figure turned back to him once more. "Come with us, and our master will explain all."

* * *

Albus Dumbledore frowned, regarding the two men in front of him gravely. It had only been a few hours since his gamekeeper and newest professor were found unconscious deep within the forbidden forest. As if that wasn't concerning enough in itself, the news of a strange boy with a strange wandless power was particularly troubling. Especially since according to Hagrid, he seemed to be associated with Death Eaters.

"You say he merely clapped his hands and was able to transfigure the ground and trees?"

"Not just transfigure them, headmaster, but actually make them move to his bidding." Taze corrected, rubbing his head where he'd fallen rather hard after being Stunned. "_And_ he transfigured his own hand into a blade."

"This is most unheard of." Dumbledore stroked his beard, the usual twinkle gone from his periwinkle eyes. "Wandless magic is of course, possible, but to control the earth as well as transfigure one's own body? The only known occurrences of that is Animagus and the Polyjuice Potion."

"Er, cou' it just be some compl'cated spell, sir?" Hagrid asked.

"I don't recall any spell that could enable such abilities…Hagrid, how old did you say the boy looked?"

"12 or 13, sir. Quite young."

The old wizard closed his eyes, feeling his concern increase tenfold. So many questions were surfacing, each more worrisome than the last. If such a young child had already mastered such a strange power, how many more Death Eaters possessed the ability as well? When did Voldemort come across such techniques? How had he learned? And more importantly, how was the dark wizard planning to use such new magic?

"Headmaster?"

"Thank you Hagrid, Taze, that will be all. Please allow Madame Pomfrey to see to you if you feel the need." The headmaster dismissed the two men with a heavy sigh. This new situation was quite troubling, indeed.

* * *

Edward Elric had decided that this world was officially crazy. He'd flown on a broomstick, which by the way confirmed his belief that humans were NOT meant for flying. If he didn't have his pride, the young teen would have tightly hugged the man in front of him, screaming at the top of his lungs like a little girl. But instead, he managed to settle for just tightly gripping the thin broom handle that he _still_ couldn't see how it could support the weight of two human beings._Anyway_, on top of the sheer weirdness of traveling on broomsticks, he just had to be shaken up even _more_ by being…ape-rated or something like that. So once he stood in front of the so called master – a snake-like rather ugly looking man by the way – 'WTF?' was the only thing running through the young Elric's mind.

"Is this the one?"

A thin young woman looking barely in her 20s, nodded her head. Edward shifted uncomfortably under her rather disconcerting stare. "It is, my Lord. Although, I'm not sure of what species he is from."

Species?_Species_? "What the bloody hell are you talking about, I'm a human being!" Edward retorted angrily. Immediately though, he felt his tail fluff up again. "…oh…" Momentarily at a loss for words, Edward quickly crossed his arms and glared.

"What is your name, child?"

"Are you calling me short?!" Edward growled, crossing his arms. He humphed at the slightly puzzled look that resulted. "My name is Edward…Elric." If suspicions about this world were correct, there was really no point in hiding his name.

"Have you ever spoken with Dumbledore?" Voldemort asked carefully. Perhaps Tasha had sensed this boy's power to be on par with the Headmaster's of Hogwarts because he was a direct student of the wizard.

"Who?"

"Are you a muggle? Non-magic?" The snake-like man pressed again.

Edward was beginning to get impatient. What the hell was up with these weird questions? "What the fuck are you talking about, magic doesn't exist! How old do you think I am, 5?" Although the young blonde didn't know what to make of this guy and his groupies, but he might as well get something out of it since they seemed to be wary of him for some reason. "Okay, you had your questions, now it's my turn." Despite the fact he hadn't answered any of said questions, but at the moment, Edward could care less.

One of the hooded figures nearby shifted angrily at the insolent tone of the newcomer to their master. Voldemort, however, waved him aside, observing the small boy in front of him with glee. The potential this boy would have for him…he didn't realize how much power he had, and was completely neutral to the wizarding war. Some insolence could be tolerated for now; it would be a small price to pay in the end.

Edward carefully thought about what he would ask so he wouldn't give away the truth of how he had gotten here. First, he started with the simple inquiry of the date…then proceeded to be mind-boggled by the rest of the explanations he asked for.

* * *

'Have I gone insane?' The young alchemist thought dazedly, staring up at the dark ceiling of his temporary room. After hearing of magic and wands (along with quite a few demonstrations), he thought his brain was going to implode at the moment. It also shook his very core because everything about magic defied the law of equivalent exchange. The way the supposed _wizard_had levitated several people around the room at once, or turned a bystander's hood into a mouse and back…it physically wasn't possible. The only explanation he could conclude with was that this world was so different, equivalent exchange just didn't exist anymore. Or perhaps the gate exacted a different toll on magic-users than alchemy users.

Edward himself had given a very vague explanation in return to the man he was to refer to as Lord Voldemort ('What a stupid sounding name, and _hell _if I'm gonna call anyone _lord_'). He had replied only that he came from a small, unknown country named Amestris – which apparently didn't exist, further confirming his belief that he'd been transported to a different world – and he'd just escaped a mad scientist trying to experiment on him. Since these people seemed in awe of his cat-like attributes, he allowed them to think he'd always been that way. Besides, Edward didn't want to spend time explaining things in detail, as he wanted to quickly retreat into solitude to finally try and figure out his current situation.

Which brought him to his present, lying nearly buried into the huge king-size bed with numerous black satin sheets. So that posed the first question; why was everyone here treating him so carefully, almost reverently? From what he saw, those hooded people definitely feared their master Voldemort, obviously because of power differences. But Voldemort was treating _him_ quite cautiously. Did that mean they thought _he_ had more power than them? Despite his disgust at how easy magic seemed to be for this world, from what he'd seen so far, it wasn't like alchemy would completely blow it away.

Secondly…what the HECK had happened to land him here in the first place? Edward_knew_ it had something to do with him being turned into a chimera. The dissociated feeling he'd told Roy about – ahem, Mustang –had started right after that bastard Minh transmuted him and stopped as soon as he got to this world. The feeling could almost be…as if his body was trying to reject himself.

'That makes sense.' Edward thought, fiddling with his braid. 'Minh _did_have numerous failures before…getting to me. But that doesn't explain why I ended up here.'

The young teen slowly closed his eyes, staring at the inside of his eyelids. He didn't fall asleep however, his mind too active to rest.

Suddenly, Edward remembered two things that at first seemed unrelated, but after some thinking connected rather well.

'Voldemort and his hood-guys wondered what _species_ I was. They weren't surprised to see a half-human half-beast creature; they only wondered what I was called. Does that mean chimeras exist in this world without consequence? Or that they are naturally born creatures here?' Now that he thought about it, on the way into this bleak castle, Edward had passed several dark portraits hanging on the walls. He hadn't given much thought, but thinking back, the young alchemist realized some of them contained images of things like a half horse, half man; half wolf, half man; and even a half bird half lion.

And straining his memory even further, Edward realized he'd briefly glimpsed the gate right before he'd landed in the bushes of that dark forest. Was this world…one of those on the other side of the gate? A world where chimeras were naturally born creatures, not synthesized by stupid humans. Did his body, about to reject itself due to Minh's flaws at transmutation, take a last resort route to survival and send itself through the gate? It made sense, to have been sent here then; where his animal-human mixed genes could survive as a natural occurrence. And his unusually close relationship with the gate – Edward shuddered, remembering the sin he'd committed to have seen the gate in the first place – made the route through it all the more possible.

So the problem was…

"How am I going to get back?" He whispered into the black sheets, feeling the initial insecurity and fear claw at his heart again. He'd been able to ignore the emotions with all the excitement, but now there was no denying them. Flashes of Al, an armor able to show so much emotion through the small red glares that were his eyes, and his annoying Colonel with his ever present smirk went through his tired mind. He already missed both of them terribly, although there was a strange feeling accompanying his thoughts of the Colonel.

Having solved one mystery, the now exhausted teen sank into deep, merciful sleep.

* * *

_A/N: Wow, I'm really really sorry if that last part just bored the pants off you all, I'm not good at incorporating explanations into my stories. _

_Anyway, more to come, like why Voldemort thinks Ed has so much power, which will be revealed in the next chapter!_

_Thanks for reading, please leave a helpful comment!_


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